Abandoned Floridahttp://www.abandonedfl.com
| Exploring Florida's Past Since 2010Sun, 02 Aug 2015 15:25:58 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3http://i1.wp.com/www.abandonedfl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/AFL-logo2-54674265_site_icon.png?fit=32%2C32Abandoned Floridahttp://www.abandonedfl.com
3232Instagram Showcase: August 2015http://www.abandonedfl.com/instagram-showcase-august-2015/
http://www.abandonedfl.com/instagram-showcase-august-2015/#commentsSun, 02 Aug 2015 15:25:58 +0000http://www.abandonedfl.com/?p=15131Every month, I scour the #abandoned_fl hashtag on Instagram and select a few to be featured here. Be sure to follow me on Instagram @abandonedfl and don’t forget to hashtag #abandoned_fl to have a chance to have your photos featured here as well! A photo posted by Sara Fox Photography (@sarafoxphotog) on Jul 30, 2015 [...]

]]>Every month, I scour the #abandoned_fl hashtag on Instagram and select a few to be featured here. Be sure to follow me on Instagram @abandonedfl and don’t forget to hashtag #abandoned_fl to have a chance to have your photos featured here as well!

First up is this photo from an abandoned trailer park in Hollywood. In the past few years, developers have been buying up mobile home properties to replace them with shopping centers or upscale living facilities, and at the same time, forcing residents to look for new homes. This trailer park was demolished just a few months ago and will be replaced with 17 three-story apartment buildings. A 6-acre park will be built as well and will include a pond, playground, fitness equipment and pet stations.

In the early 1970’s, Mary Gaffaney, World Champion aerobatic pilot and owner of Kendall Flying School established a commercial glider operation on land she purchased next to Everglades National Park. She subsequently leased her Kendall Gliderport to other glider school operators who had difficulty growing the business at such a remote location. However, dozens of new glider pilots were trained at Mary’s Kendall Gliderport. In spite of the snakes and mosquitoes Kendall Gliderport enjoyed the best soaring conditions in South Florida, as the convergence of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico seabreeze fronts occasionally boosted cloud bases to over 8,000 ft. It closed in the 1990s when the property was absorbed by the Everglades National Park.

A supposed World War 2 bomb shelter in the Mount Dora area. When this was posted on Flurbex, it reminded people of the Mount Dora Catacombs, a bomb shelter built during the Cold War to house 25 families in case of a nuclear disaster. Many people on the internet claim to have found it but they always seem to come back empty handed. Few people know where it’s located at, including myself, but to show respect for the owners who would most likely be harassed if word got out, it’ll be kept a secret as it has been all these years.

]]>http://www.abandonedfl.com/instagram-showcase-august-2015/feed/0Nike IFC HM-95 to be demolishedhttp://www.abandonedfl.com/nike-ifc-hm-95-is-set-to-be-demolished/
http://www.abandonedfl.com/nike-ifc-hm-95-is-set-to-be-demolished/#commentsSat, 25 Jul 2015 14:00:11 +0000http://www.abandonedfl.com/?p=15084Miami – The Nike Missile IFC Site HM-95 located off of Krome Avenue, just south of the Krome Detention Center is set to be demolished relatively soon. The buildings are most likely being torn down as part of a series of projects to widen Krome Avenue from Okeechobee Road to Homestead. Currently, Krome Avenue is [...]

Photo credit: 808shirts, 2015 – The land surrounding the buildings has been cleared.

Miami – The Nike Missile IFC Site HM-95 located off of Krome Avenue, just south of the Krome Detention Center is set to be demolished relatively soon.

The buildings are most likely being torn down as part of a series of projects to widen Krome Avenue from Okeechobee Road to Homestead. Currently, Krome Avenue is a two-lane road, one going each way. Because of this, it’s become known as one of the most dangerous roads in South Florida with 12 fatalities recorded last year and 3 fatalities this year so far. After construction, the road will have four lanes, two going each way with a divider in the middle.

The folks over at 808shirts.com were lucky enough to shoot and share these photos before demolition actually begins.

“When we got to IFC-HM95 there was a crane knocking down trees in the back,” he said. “There was 1 white truck with a man in it waiting to see what we were going to do. We hesitated to get further than the security gate, but then he rolled over to us and asked if we wanted to take pictures. He stated that he knew it was a good spot to hang at, but his job was to tear it down. He also mentioned that his truck and crane were vandalized the night before.”

Since it’s abandonment after being damaged by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the buildings have attracted countless people, from photographers and film makers to taggers and paintball players.

]]>http://www.abandonedfl.com/nike-ifc-hm-95-is-set-to-be-demolished/feed/14My upcoming book, Lost Miami, is available for preorderhttp://www.abandonedfl.com/my-upcoming-book-lost-miami-is-available-for-preorder/
http://www.abandonedfl.com/my-upcoming-book-lost-miami-is-available-for-preorder/#commentsWed, 22 Jul 2015 19:07:32 +0000http://www.abandonedfl.com/?p=15079If you follow me on any social media or have met me in person, then you would know I’ve been talking about this project I’ve been working on for months now. The approach I had was to start with Miami’s beginnings, when it was nothing but swamp and dirt roads. Believe it or not, there [...]

If you follow me on any social media or have met me in person, then you would know I’ve been talking about this project I’ve been working on for months now.

The approach I had was to start with Miami’s beginnings, when it was nothing but swamp and dirt roads. Believe it or not, there are still buildings from that time like Anderson’s Corner for example down in Homestead. From there I moved to World War II, where we had a blimp base in Homestead to scout the areas around South Florida and to destroy any u-boats that entered our waters.

The Cold War was an interesting time for Miami as the CIA operated out of the buildings just north of where the blimp base used to be. Throughout those years, they formed a large network throughout South Florida which included businesses used as fronts and hideouts and were used in multiple operations. For a time there, they were also operating out of the Aerojet-Dade rocket manufacturing plant and HM-95 Nike IFC site off of Krome Avenue, before Hurricane Andrew swept through South Florida and putting an end to those operations.

During the 80s, Miami became infamous as the most violent city in America. Because of the large amounts of money being moved around, the city felt a ‘boom’ of sorts; many businesses and buildings were built during that time, including many of downtown’s skyscrapers. When the drug lords were pushed out of Miami, many places closed down.

I hope my writings can inspire people to get out and explore their city; that Miami specifically is much more than just beaches and nightlife. The book would interest those wanting to know more about Miami’s past and those that would like to see the interiors of some of the city’s notable abandoned buildings including the Coconut Grove Playhouse and Miami Marine Stadium.

The book releases August 31, 2015 and can be preordered at Barnes & Noble for $24.99; link is below. For those interested in getting their hands on a signed copy, I will be having book signings in Miami around the time of the release as well as weeks after. It will also be available as an e-book at the time of release.